Introducing Erin Bowman!

Erin Bowman!

Erin has spent most of her life telling stories. It is rumored that her first words were not “Mama” or “Dada,” but “Once upon a time.” In middle school, when kids were going off to sleep-away camp for the summer, Erin was attending writing camp and penning short stories. When not writing, Erin can often be found far away from the computer (hiking or camping), or geeking out over letterpressed stationery, good typography, and everything Harry Potter. She drinks a lot of coffee, buys far too many books, and is not terribly skilled at writing about herself in the third person.

TAKEN

Gray Weathersby has spent the last seventeen years fearing his eighteenth birthday. In his isolated hometown, where dust outnumbers grass and crows rival clouds, all eighteen-year-old boys are lost to a phenomenon the villagers have come to call the Heist. After his older brother, Blaine, meets this mysterious fate, Gray’s fascination with the Heist becomes an obsession. He craves answers. About the Wall that surrounds his town, a towering structure that no one can cross without dying. About the Council leaders and their obvious secrets. About the nature of the Heist itself.

During his search for answers, Gray enlists the help of Emma, a healer’s daughter and a girl he has admired since the day he first stole a wooden toy from her hands as a child. What they find leaves Gray with ideas. Dangerous ideas. Maybe Blaine hasn’t been lost forever. Maybe Gray can find him. Maybe it’s as simple as climbing the Wall and maybe, just maybe, Gray’s fate won’t be the same as everyone that has climbed before him.

1. So we all want to know: when you started writing Taken, which came first for you–the characters or the plot?

It was definitely the characters. Well, at least the main character. Gray came to me nearly fully-formed. I could see him before I wrote him, hear his voice before I transcribed even a snippet of dialog. I knew how instinctive he was, and how he valued his brother far more than himself because his brother could reflect on things before reacting. I also knew that Gray had a streak of curiosity in him, and while he wouldn’t even know it himself at the beginning of the story, that curiosity was a dangerous trait that when fed, would cause him to hunt down answers and truths no matter the cost.

It was a blessing really, knowing all these big picture things before I started writing. With his personality so clear in my head, everything else fell into place as I wrote. I absolutely had ideas of where the plot would go, and how Gray would fit into them. But I kept those ideas loosely outlined and when the situation arose on the page, I let Gray tell me if my initial thoughts were correct.

2. Wow, Gray sounds kinda amazing. And how cool that you just “knew” him! So taking a step back, what was your journey to publication like?

I’ve been writing stories since I could scribble with a crayon, but after college, my writing sort of slowed down. I think it had to do with moving to a new city, and working my first “career” job, and getting engaged, and all sorts of wonderful life milestones. I was super busy, and the only writing I seemed to find the time for was short stories. Then, I got laid off a job…a month before my wedding.

I was really devastated and chose to spend that month just prepping for the wedding, spending time with family, and not job-searching. But something amazing happened in the quiet moments when everyone was at work: I started writing again. And not just tiny bursts of prose. I had ideas. Big ideas. I started writing a novel, got married, and when I came back from our honeymoon, I kept writing. I didn’t let up even when I got a new job. I carved out the time, and soon I had a novel. I revised it, and in the middle of revising, this massive idea fell into my lap. That idea was Taken. I wrote, and revised, and revised some more, and after reading everything I could find online about queries and agents and publication, my CP convinced me it was time to send the MS out.

I began querying at the start of 2011. I signed with my agent at the end of January. Taken was bought by HarperTeen in April. It’s been incredibly surreal. But the entire process always amazes me because I honestly don’t think I’d have a book deal, or even written this book to begin with, had I not lost that job before my wedding. Everything happens for a reason. Some doors close so new ones can open. I truly believe that.

3. We’re firm believers of the “Everything happens for a reason too”–all of us have followed journeys that are exactly what they needed to be. 🙂 What’s your next writing project?

I’ll be starting on the sequel to Taken very soon, and I am so excited to dive back into Gray’s world. Oh, how I’ve missed him!

I also have two WIPs that I play with during downtime. One is fully drafted and in need of a revision, but I’m really excited about where it could go. The other is just five rough chapters at the moment, but it is so new and shiny that I smile every time I work on it. (You know how it’s always hugs and sunshine at the beginning.)

4. Oh, we know, we know. Darn story-lust. 😉 When you’re working, what’s a typical writing day look like for you?

I work a day job three days a week. The other four days go something like this:

7 — Wake up and read in bed
7:30 — Debate if taking a shower is necessary. (Showering is terribly inconvenient.) Grumble. Take shower, get dressed, wander downstairs.
8:00 — Breakfast. Coffee. Words with Friends.
8:30 — Emails. Read blogs. Check Twitter. Email some more. Tweet some more.
11:00 — Write!! (drafting, revising, etc. It can really be anything depending on what stage I’m at in a given MS)
2:00 — Realize I haven’t eaten. Decide eating is nearly as inconvenient as showering. Prepare whatever is easiest and quickest.
2:15 — Write some more while shoveling down food.
5:30 — The Engineer gets home! (((hugs)))
6:00 — Make and eat dinner. (How inconvenient!)
7:30 until bed — Return to writing or draft a blog post or read a book (or ms for CP) or watch TV/movies. It really just comes down to what I feel like at this point.

Some days I have to run errands and those always through my schedule off. I am one of those writers that does best when she locks herself in a room and types for hours on end without distraction. People that can churn out successful drafts over 1hr increments amaze me.

5. It looks like it all boils down to the self-motivation, huh? Go you. And do you have any final words of advice or inspiration?

There are a million and a half different ways to write. None of them are wrong. Be inspired by everything you read online, but don’t feel like you have to follow every piece of advice. And always take time to recharge your creative batteries. Sometimes the words are a challenge because the well has run dry. Go do something else: read, run, hike, travel, laugh with friends, eat new foods, stare at the stars. The words will come eventually.

6. Too true. Recharging is critical. Now, mix us a literary cocktail! What elements would you include in your ideal book?

That’s right–Erin has an advanced copy of this dystopian YA, and she’s gonna pass it along to one of YOU. All you have to do is fill out the little raffle form below, and we’ll announce the winner NEXT WEEK (on Tuesday)!

And, be sure to tune in tomorrow, when we introduce our next new member (and offer more fun swag!).

About Sooz

Susan Dennard has come a long way from small-town Georgia. As a marine biologist, she got to travel the world—six out of seven continents, to be exact (she’ll get to Asia one of these days!)—before she settled down as a full-time novelist and writing instructor. She lives in the Midwestern US with her French husband and Irish setter, and you can learn more about her crazy thoughts and crippling cookie-addiction on her blog, newsletter, Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest. Her Something Strange and Deadly series is now available from HarperTeen, and The Witchlands series will launch from Tor in January 2016.

Favourite book with male protagonist? I would pick the Harry Potter, but I think a book that speaks more to me would be The Piper’s Son by Melina Marchetta. That or Stolen by Lucy Christopher, even if the male protagonist is essentially the antagonist in the story. 😀 😀

Oh, Harry is definitely my pick. Although I’m also rather fond of Chase from INVINCIBLE SUMMER. (I’ve heard a lot of great things about THE PIPER’S SON, and I lovedddd Jonah from JELLICOE ROAD, so perhaps I need to pick it up!) Thanks for stopping by 🙂

I was going to pick The Piper’s Son too! Specifically because I think the book would have been significantly different with a female protagonist. I love Marchetta’s work and it was wonderful to see her write from that angle as well.

This is so much fun! I love that Words With Friends is on your daily list. That makes me smile. 🙂

Your book sounds absolutely fantastic, Erin, and I can’t wait to read it! Welcome to Pub Crawl! It’s so exciting to hear new stories of the writing process. I’m kind of glad you lost your job, too. It means the world will get a fantastic story out of it. Gray sounds like he will be wonderful to read about!

Thank you so very much, Meredith! And to be truthful, I’m really glad I lost that job, too. It opened an amazing door for me, and I’m so very happy with the path I’m now on. I can’t wait to share TAKEN with you and the world!! 🙂

Favorite male character in a book. Well, most of you are going to think I’m SO sucking up, but I’m sure Sarah knows this well. I’ve been in love with Chaol since the day I started reading Queen of Glass so many years ago. I know he must have changed through the many revisions, but I still hold out that he will be as amazing if not more so than I remember him. No one else has quite lived up to him in my eyes. *sigh*

OMG, CHAOL!!! (I read the finished version of QOG, so I’m not sure how that version compares to the original, but Chaol stole my heart from the opening pages. I adore him. Lovelovelove. I still haven’t read FINNIKIN (High on my list, though, and given what I’ve heard from other readers, I’m sure I’ll fall in love with him, too!).

My fave book with a male main character would have to be Rand al’Thor from the epic Wheel of Time series. Either that or Drizzt from the Legend of Drizzt series. (Incidentally, both have, like, a million books in the series, which may be why I love them so much. Also, epic fantasy. HECK YEAH).

Welcome, Erin! So exciting to have lovely new authors to look forward to meeting/spending oodles more time reading. 🙂 Thanks for the interview – I actually recently discovered your book on goodreads, so it was great to get in your head about it!

Hey Erin! My favorite book with a male main character is Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close! It’s my most favorite book in the whole world. The protagonist, Oskar Schell, is a 9-year-old boy, and that really gives the book a really cool perspective! 🙂

I just finished reading “Half-Blood Blues” by Esi Edugyan and one of the male, main characters, “Hieronymous Thomas Falk” would be my favourite. The book itself is well-worthy of its Giller Prize (2011), but the character Hiero Falk is a true hero.

Welcome Erin! And ugh, SHOWERS. They’re the last thing I want to do at night because I have so many other things I want/need to do, and yet the shower seems to be the birthplace of so many story ideas. All I need is a waterproof laptop and I’m GOLDEN.

My favorite male main character in a book would have to be Kvothe from The Name of the Wind. It’s not YA, but it’s beautifully written and my favorite book. I’ve read it so many times. Anyway, Kvothe is snarky and has a temper and is brilliant and he always saves the day (you’d think a little too often, but he gets all kinds of crap thrown at him and I think he’s just too stubborn to fail).

As always, I’m super excited for Taken! Gray sounds like an awesome character. I love that he has a dangerous curious streak. That’s a perfect trait for an action/adventure book with a mystery at its core.

Hmmm, favorite book with a male character as lead? I almost wanted to say Harry Potter, but I don’t think I will, because as much as I love HP (and OMGHASJFHGVAS DO I!), I don’t love it *because* of Harry. He’s awesome and he’s the main character, but I didn’t just go, “Oh yeah, Harry is a guy”… That sounds strange, it made more sense in my head. Most things do.

ANYWAY, I will have to say the Percy Jackson series. All of them. Including the Heroes of Olympus series. Specially SON OF NEPTUNE. Percy is just so memorable and so, I don’t know, HERE. The things he does and says, it’s like I can see a friend of mine doing and saying them, too. I couldn’t read one paragraph or any Percy Jackson book and not tell it’s from a guys perspective. And those books are just awesome <3

I adore Harry, too, but I know what you mean. I’m a big fan of Ron because his personality seems a bit stronger to me. I still haven’t read PERCY. Shame on me! Must jump on that. Thanks for the welcome wishes 🙂

Welcome Erin! I’m very excited to read Taken! I’ve already kicked off the new year with a TBR of male-lead books. In 2011 nearly every book I read had a female protagonist so I figure it’s about time to switch things up and see what I’m missing out on! I’m starting off with The Hobbit, then Chronicles of Prydain, Witchlanders, Finnikin of the Rock, and lastly the Percy Jackson series.

My favorite male-lead book is The Name of the Wind. That book (and the one that comes after it!) is so compelling and hard to put down. Kvothe is one of the coolest characters I’ve ever read and I feel as if I know him so well that he could be my friend. The Name of the Wind is definitely what I would call a Nightini! 😉

Hey, Erin! TAKEN sounds absolutely amazing. How am i supposed to wait until winter 2013?!?

My favorite male lead is probably Tammo from THE LONG PATROL by Brian Jacques. I was obsessed with that book as a kid and read it dozens of times, and I still love Tammo. This question has made me realize that I don’t read nearly enough books with male leads. I’m going to have to fix that 😉

Katelyn!! Thank you so much for the kind words about TAKEN! The fact that you are excited for it makes me so incredibly happy. (Although, I am sorry you have to wait so long! Hopefully the ARCs will be making their rounds before we know it 😉 )

And the Redwall books! Yay! I read and loved them as a child as well! 🙂

Helloooooooooo Ryan Gosling…it is never too early in the morning to see your pretty face. Hmm fav male lead? I haven’t read too many lead male protagonists, but Todd from The Knife of Never Letting Go is a recent character I really enjoyed. Taken sounds fantastic Erin, I can’t wait to shake up my usual selection of female POV books. Can’t wait to meet the rest of the incredible authors you guys have lined up for us!

Erin, you HAVE to read THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO! It was one of my fave reads this year, and has made it to my list of fave books! He has SUCH an incredible voice, and Patrick Ness is a BRILLIANT author.

YAY HAI THERE, Erin! TAKEN sounds epic and so does the name Gray, and d’aww I love your ‘journey to publication’ story <3 As for my fav male lead, definitely Harry! Can't help but just adore that reluctant-hero charm, even when he's being emo and tantrum prone, ahaha ;D

Yay for Erin! Your book sounds fab. Love the setting – dust for grass and crows for clouds? Awesome! 🙂

I think like a lot of people here before me, I wanted to default to Harry Potter! Who can blame us? He’s awesome! But I think my favorite YA/MG male voice recently is Percy Jackson (he’s so endearing) and Cas from Anna Dressed in Blood.

Taran from Lloyd Alexander’s The Chronicles of Prydain is probably my allt-time favorite male protagonist, THOUGH Finnikin from FINNIKIN OF THE ROCK is now a close second….And so is Gray from YOUR book, for that matter!!!! <3

Oh, Sarah!!!! <333 I know you've told me you love Gray and all, but this...this is something else. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! (FINNIKIN is next on my list of fantasy reads, btw. I've heard nothing but good things and I can't wait to read!)

Taken sound badass. Secrets, action, romance and mystery!:O Oh and a wall.! Huzzah!
I actually like the fact that the reason he likes the healer is the fact that he stole a horse from her. Wow…that sentence I just worte was awful.
Hmmm favourite male lead. Well, I’m picking someone I actually really didn’t like, but I kind of did, but didn’t, but did…GAH.

My favourite male Protaganist (I don’t think he’s an antagonist) would be Kennit from Robbin Hobb’s Liveship Trader series. He’s so close to being a hero, but (i’m trying not to spoil anything) he can’t get over things that happened in the past.

And I like the fact that Robbin Hobb is playing with the whole steorytipical action hero thing. Kind of like Georgee RR Martin’s Dunken and Egg Novellas.

I don’t have a male main character favorite, just the romantic leads. But I am going to start up Julie Cross’s Tempest in which Jackson Meyer is the MC, so I’m looking forward to that. Perhaps I’ll be able to say that HE is my fave. 🙂

Forget what I said about wanting it to be 2012. 2013, please? *squeezes eyes shut and prays for time machine*

Usually, I don’t go much for guys. Mainly because I’m not one, and also because most times I can’t really get into their life crises. But three books that really got my attention that center around a guy (or guys) are The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff, The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud, and Witchlanders by Lena Coakley.

Ohmygoodness, Kaye!! Ah! Your excitement is making me excited all over again. Sometimes this journey to publication gets so bogged down with deadlines that I forget TAKEN will actually be on a shelf some day, and enthusiastic responses like yours remind me otherwise. Thank you so very much!!!

Ok, admittedly I haven’t read many books with a male main character, but Megan Bostic’s debut Never Eighteen has a fantastic male MC who you can’t just help but love. However, I also love Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, and the Perfect Chemistry trilogy!

I am so, sooo fortunate to now be writing part time. I love it! So much time to focus. I actually wrote the draft of TAKEN that got me my agent, and my book deal, while working full time. It was written in those 1hr increments I mentioned hating. Looking back, I have no clue how I did it! And hooray for THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER!

Welcome Erin! Can I just say that taking the time to ponder the uselessness of showers in the morning is why I now have to shower at night? Thanks for sharing with us, I’m excited about what you’ll contribute to Pub(lishing) Crawl!

From reading many of the comments above it’s clear that there are simply too many amazing books with male protagonists, so I’m going to cop out and say I have too many to count. Very excited to read Taken through, another reason for the world not to end this December ;-).

Very excited to read Taken through, another reason for the world not to end this December

^ YES! Down with the Apocalypse. (I’m so excited to share TAKEN with everyone. And there are so many other books I want to read that don’t come out ’til 2013 as well. I really hope the Mayans are wrong!)

Thirdly favourite main male character? That is a tricky one, as I am typically girly and seem to read lots of books with lead females. I really could do to learn more about the male species to be honest!! In this case I would have to go for the rather obvious Harry Potter – I don’t think you can find many better characters anywhere to be honest.

Wonderful to see you here, Erin! I suspected as much yesterday when I was having a good stalk about the new website, as you do. Hee. And you and Sooz have certainly done a marvellous job design it all. Love it!

Wow, TAKEN sounds right up my alley. Why is it not 2013 already? Mmmm… Grat… Another paper heart-throb to swoon over. That’s fine with me. 😀

Thanks so much, Laura — for the kind words about the blog design and for your interest in TAKEN! (I’m sorry you have to wait so long to read it though. But “Paper heart-throb”… I do like that term. I’ve got a few of those, myself!) 🙂

My favorite book with a Male main character would have to be Exiled by M. Merrick! Loved that book!!
Taken sounds great. I love things like this because I hear about authors I never would have under normal circumstances:) and Erin sounds awesome!!!!

Can Ryan Gosling BE any more awesome? I love all the random memes out there for him. The YA and literary are hilarious – and the Hunger Games nod is one of my favorites. There is also the Handmade meme where he gets all crafty 🙂

Hmmm, which male narrator do I love? It is so hard when most of the time lots of stories are from the female persuasion. I suppose one who tends to stand out is Ender from the Ender-verse. Or when Marcus Flutie finally got his say for a little while in Perfect Fifths? YES.

My favorite book with a male protagonist/awesome male character is Phantom (whose protagonist is Erik, the Phantom of the Opera.) I also love The Scorpio Races, if only because I need a Sean Kendrick in my life. 🙂

Welcome, Erin! I loved the sound of Taken! Definitely one of the most intriguing summaries I’ve read, and it’s only 2012. Wow, a full year of waiting… And I think everyone’s been waiting for The Selection, so thanks for the fab giveaway!

Hm…I’m gonna say the Harry Potter series and The Giver. It’s been years since I’ve read them, but both have stuck with me. May have to do a re-read one of these days! Anyway, Taken sounds amazing and it is on my “to-read” list. Honestly, I love to hear about or talk with YA authors early on in the process (from a reader’s perspective) and watch as they end up with a shiny and awesome published book. Best wishes to you! 🙂

You know, to be completely honest, I haven’t read a lot of books with male main characters. Of the ones I have read, I think my favorite is Pudge from Looking for Alaska, although I also love Harry Potter and the Pendragon books.

The fact that you schedule in time for Words With Friends makes me so, so happy. That game is such an addiction.

The most memorable male MC for me was Jace from SPLIT. The author did such a fantastic job with him as a character and his overall story…I love that book to pieces. 🙂 But anyways, this interview was awesome! TAKEN sounds amazing, and I can’t wait to meet Gray.

There are very few books where I like a male protagonist but yours sounds really interesting. The story sort of reminds me of The Giver which I read it in middle school. That is one of my favorite books.

I also buy waaayyy too many books that I end up not having any room for them. Good to know I’m not the only one 🙂

Hey Erin! If saying Harry Potter isn’t cheating, than he is definitely my favorite male lead character!
And Taken sounds really interesting, so I am a little bumped because 2013 winter is so far away:(

Hi, Erin! Nice to meet you and your book 🙂
I agree with lots of the characters mentioned in the comments. Just wanted to add one of my ultimate favorites: Gilbert Blythe from the Anne of Green Gables series. I had a gigantic crush on him as a kid — and still do!

Great author picture! It was one of the ones I voted for on Erin’s blog 🙂

Favourite male character? If you mean a book old from a male POV, I haven’t read much of those, which I’ll be changing this year with books like Anne Greenwood Brown’s Lies Beneath and Kenneth Oppel’s This Dark Endeavor, Trish Doller’s Something Like Normal. One that I have read and liked was Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles where one of the POVs is male.

favorite book with male main character. Creepy but true…The Shining. Eek! So well written and terrifying, it’s practically a genre of it’s own if you ask me. Stephen King at his finest, and Jack is written like he’s a real guy. Love it!

Your Read-Through-The-Nightini sounds delicious! Exactly my kind of mix! And I couldn’t agree with you more about the inconvenience of showering and eating hahaha – not to mention sleeping! Imagine how many more books you could read & write if sleeping wasn’t a must! ;D

My favorite book with a lead male character that hasn’t been mentioned is Fitz in The Farseer Trilogy (Assassins Apprentice, etc.) (It’s a Nightini, you know ;D)

Andrea, we must be the same person. There have been so many times that I’ve grumbled about needing to sleep. My TBR list wouldn’t be the massive tower it is if I could go non-stop! I haven’t heard of THE FARSEER TRILOGY, but if it’s a Read-Through-the-Nightini, I will definitely add it to my list 😉

I loved both WGs too! And so nice to meet another things-happen-for-a-reason believer! I agree: it’s sometimes hard to see the good in a something, especially at the moment tragedy strikes, but there’s always a little in there 🙂

hehe. April, that is too funny! Thank you so very much for adding TAKEN on goodreads! I really appreciate it. I still haven’t read THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO — it’s been on my TBR list forever — but so many people have mentioned it in this post, I’m going to have to move it up the pile 🙂

Im embarrassed to say, i haven’t read many male POV books (ok, maybe just.. one? ). For some reason that one just didn’t impress me much. HOWEVER I have read books with multiple POVs and one of them is a male. does that count?

I do want to expand my reading list, so i will definitely be picking up Taken 😀

Everyone says, ‘Harry Potter’, but for myself the character I choose is kind of main, but also sub-character Calvin O’Keefe from, ‘A Wrinkle in Time’. He was a misfit, but found a way to fit in with Meg and her little brother Charles.

Favorite book with a male man character: Oh, that’s a hard one! I loved the Twilight series because of Jacob Black (sue me, if you’re a Twilight hater!) I also loved The Hunger Games series because of Peeta Mellark. I think, in the end, The Hunger Games/Peeta wins out.

Thank you SO much for the opportunity to win The Selection. This is at the top of my Wishlist! 🙂 Also, great blog! Will be following.

Hi Joan! TAKEN is done when it comes to large scale edits. It’s mostly all the details now (copy edits, page passes, cover copy, etc, etc). I still don’t have an official release date yet, but it should be out between Jan and April of next year.

Gone by Michael Grant… Sam Temple is an amazing character. He’s expected to be a great leader, and yet he is just an average 16 year old kid, trying to live a normal life… even if he can shoot light beams out of the palm of his hands. He also just wants his mom, and his girl-friend Astrid. He doesn’t want to be a leader, he’s just sort of thrown into the job.

My favorite male main character is definitely Percy Jackson from Rick Riordans Percy Jackson and the Olympian series. He just as such a great personality and he’s really funny too! I wish I knew him in real life! I truly adore reading about Percy!